


And The Firmament

by notfromcold



Category: Lymond Chronicles - Dorothy Dunnett
Genre: But they help each other cope, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Post-Canon, heavy on the comfort, implied prior violence, these darlings, they've been through a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-05 22:40:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20496497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notfromcold/pseuds/notfromcold
Summary: Caring for each other post-series.





	And The Firmament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You always comfort me."
> 
> CW: nausea.

Perhaps it was the wind that woke her, a winter storm rattling their bedroom windows and sending sleet in waves against the glass. Perhaps.

Philippa cast her eyes around the room. The banked fire provided scant illumination, tall shadows, little light. On his side of the bed, Francis was curled tight into himself, his breath coming fast and uneven.

_Oh._

“Francis?” She reached out a hand, placing her palm against his back. He flinched, choking on a breath as though he had been hit.

_Oh_.

She pulled her hand back and used her voice instead.

“Francis, wake up. You were dreaming.” He shifted, and she heard his breathing slow, a conscious effort she was sure. He lay still for a moment, tense as a rabbit frozen in the grass. Then he pushed himself out of bed and stood, reaching to pull on a robe. He smiled, all superficial, ice-cold calm. His hands were shaking.

“Get some sleep,” he said, his voice very gentle, “I don’t want to disturb you.”

“Francis,” Philippa sat up, reaching out a hand to him, trying to match his gentleness with her own, “don’t hide yourself away from me.”

Francis stopped and stood stock still, as though he had been struck through the heart. Then he knelt again on the bed and, taking Philippa’s hand in his, pressed his cheek against her palm. His overnight stubble scratched at her. His lips formed her name on a breath, three syllables, no sound.

She wondered if she had gone too far.

“Francis, don’t stay to please me. But don’t leave only to spare me. If I can comfort you, I will.”

Francis smiled. This time there was no ice. “You always comfort me. 'She is so bright and glorious that you cannot look at her face or her garments for the splendor with which she shines. For she is terrible with the terror of the avenging lightning, and gentle with the goodness of the bright sun.'” Then he grimaced and pulled away again, sheepish. “It is very possible that I’m going to be very sick.”

Philippa stroked her thumb across his cheek. “That’s alright. You won’t shock me. And there’s a basin beneath the bed if you need it. Come here.”

He went to her, and she pulled him down against her shoulder, tucking his forehead against her neck, and placing his hand on her chest so that he could feel it rise and fall.

“'_Agnodice quaedam puella virgo concupivit medicinam discere_,'” Francis murmured into her collarbone. Then she felt him relax in her arms.

Philippa met him on the linguistic field. "'ὄμνυμι Ἀπόλλωνα ἰητρὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν καὶ Πανάκειαν καὶ θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶ πάσας, ἵστορας ποιεύμενος, ἐπιτελέα ποιήσειν κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐμὴν ὅρκον τόνδε καὶ συγγραφὴν τήνδε,'" she replied and simply held him.

“Still feeling sick?” she asked some minutes later.

“No. It passed.”

“Good.” She counted to five in her head, then “You flinched when I touched you. Is there pain?”

“No, my Agnodice, there’s no pain for you to soothe. Only.. things I'd rather discuss in the daylight, removed from...”

Removed from the possibility of sleep and further nightmares; Philippa could have finished it for him. His voice sounded strained, as though the words cost him.

"In the daylight," she agreed, "but only if you wish. You don't owe me your history as proof of your love. Despite your many talents, you're not Scheherazade."

Then she left it there and talked to him instead, a stream of consciousness ramble of projects she intended to attempt and complete, of thoughts she had, of books she was reading.

Francis reached for her hand, entwining his fingers loosely with hers. Then he closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quotations: 
> 
> 1\. "She is so bright and glorious that you cannot look at her face or her garments for the splendor with which she shines. For she is terrible with the terror of the avenging lightning, and gentle with the goodness of the bright sun." Saint Hildegard Von Bingen, discussing her visions of God in her Scivias (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Hildegard)(https://books.google.com/books?id=7SVDoDhCV3oC&lpg=PA161&vq=bright&pg=PA364#v=onepage&q&f=false). Oh, Francis. Really, Francis?
> 
> 2\. "Agnodice quaedam puella virgo concupivit medicinam discere." Trans: "Agnodice was a young woman who wanted to study medicine." Agnodice is said to have been the first woman doctor in Athens. Her story is written down in the Fabulae by Gaius Julius Hyginius. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnodice)(http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/antiqua/women/). I managed to snag the Latin full text of the Fabulae here: https://archive.org/details/hyginifabulae00hygigoog/page/n5 I don't speak Latin, but I tried to reverse-engineer it.
> 
> 3\. ὄμνυμι Ἀπόλλωνα ἰητρὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν καὶ Πανάκειαν καὶ θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶ πάσας, ἵστορας ποιεύμενος, ἐπιτελέα ποιήσειν κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐμὴν ὅρκον τόνδε καὶ συγγραφὴν τήνδε'. Trans: "I swear by Apollo Physician, by Asclepius, by Hygieia, by Panaceea, and by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and judgment, this oath and this indenture." i.e. the opening paragraph of the Hippocratic Oath in Koine (Biblical) Greek (according to Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath#Earliest_surviving_copy). As far as I could tell, the oath was available during the 16th Century, but it's not clear whether this exact quote is what Philippa would have read as it comes from a 1923 edition.


End file.
